


Mornings

by NeonAtlas



Category: Looking (TV)
Genre: Breakfast, Cafe brunch, Couch Cuddles, Cuddles, Dates, Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, Fever, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Jealousy, Kissing, Lazy Mornings, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Morning Cuddles, Mornings, Post-Canon, Sickfic, Surprises, Waking Up, Whispering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 10:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19886086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonAtlas/pseuds/NeonAtlas
Summary: Richie and Patrick spending mornings together.





	1. Playful

**Author's Note:**

> Post-Canon

Richie was a morning person. As soon as sunlight crept through the cracks in the blinds, he was awake. He always found mornings so peaceful. The melodious chirping of birds in the tree right outside the apartment window was the best part of his morning.

Actually, scratch that. The best part of his morning was waking up right beside Patrick. If it was a good night, their limbs would be entangled and their bedding abandoned. But it was late in the summer. And cuddling in these temperatures just resulted in the two of them waking up a sticky and sweaty mess. But on occasion, Richie would wake up to find that Patrick had a hand in his hair, or that their feet were brushing together. That was definitely the best part of his morning.

Usually, he would let Patrick sleep. He enjoyed the quiet, he liked watching Patrick’s chest rise and fall with each even breath. And he loved the way Patrick’s eyelids fluttered open when he came to in the mornings. But some mornings, he could be playful. He could be restless. He couldn’t wait for Patrick to wake up.

And today was one of those mornings. Today he found himself eager to wake Patrick. He turned over in the bed, one hand resting on Patrick’s shoulder as he tilted his head up. “Pato. Hey, Pato.” He whispered, sure his voice alone wouldn’t be enough to wake Patrick.

Patrick was entirely unresponsive, still deep in his sleep. But that wasn’t uncommon. Where Richie was a light sleeper, Patrick was the polar opposite. Patrick had slept thousands of alarms, through jackhammer construction outside their apartment, even through a 4.8 earthquake on one occasion. If the boy wanted to sleep, there wasn’t much anyone could do to counter it. But that wouldn’t stop Richie.

“Patrick, baby, wake up.” He whispered again, this time a little louder and he opted to shake his boyfriend’s shoulder ever so slightly. Patrick’s breathing hadn’t hitched in the slightest. Knowing that Patrick wouldn’t hear him, Richie, let out a small chuckle. “Éste hombre duerme como muerto.” He muttered mostly to himself.

Not even the slightest bit deterred, Richie opted for a more intimate wake up. He pressed himself up on his forearm and leaned down to press a series of small kisses all over Patrick’s exposed skin. He pressed a kiss on his collarbone, and on the side of his neck, the entire length of his jaw. He pressed one on his forehead for good measure. But even then, Patrick hardly stirred. He hand twitched and he adjusted his positioning ever so slightly. But he was still far from awake. “You’re impossible,” Richie sighed out as he placed another kiss on Patrick’s lips.

That kiss prompted a different response. Patrick’s lips pulled up into a comfortable smile and he even let out a small giggle. At that, Richie knew he was finally getting somewhere. Patrick was finally starting to fall out of sleep. And he knew just the way to finish the job.

It would be a dangerous method, that he knew. He’d tried it only once before. And it ended with Richie in the hospital with a bruised rib and a slight concussion. He knew the risks he was facing. But this time, he would take more precautions. He would make sure this time didn’t end with a trip to the hospital but with the room being filled with Patrick’s light laughter and good morning kisses.

With a devilish smirk, he crawled on top of Patrick. That seemed to draw Patrick even further from sleep as he hazily swatted at the weight now resting on thighs. But Richie knew he was still out of it enough to get his desired reaction. Without a second thought, Richie tickled his fingers against Patrick’s sides. Patrick jolted uncontrollably, trying to evade Richie’s fingers. Watching Patrick flail around prompted Richie to start laughing as he continued to tickle his boyfriend. It wasn’t much longer until Patrick’s eyes shot open and his mouth burst with the roaring sounds of laughter. “Richie. Richie. Knock it off!” He gasped out in between his fits of hysteria. “Okay. Okay. I’m awake!”

Patrick’s legs jolted as he tried to free himself. But one jolt was all he needed to set Richie off balance. Before Patrick could realize what he’d done, Richie’s face was approaching him and their foreheads knocked together with a cringe-worthy thunk. Richie and Patrick were both still laughing as they rubbed the sore spots on their foreheads.

When the laughter died down, Patrick sent Richie a sincere look of betrayal. “I told you never to tickle me awake again.” He shot with his hand still pressed against the bump forming on his skull.

Richie was still smiling wide, the pain is his forehead long forgotten because Patrick was awake and he got what he wanted. “But it worked,” He leaned down to press a longer, more passionate kiss to Patrick’s lips. Followed by a more chaste kiss on his forehead, “Good morning, beautiful.”

Patrick rolled his eyes, but couldn’t do anything to prevent the blush forming on his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. Good morning, asshole.” His voice still had the residual perkiness of laughter. “Now go get me an ice pack for my head.”

Richie laughed once again as he walked out to the kitchen.


	2. Full-Size Mattress

Patrick was used to waking up in an empty bed. At the start of their newfound relationship, Richie had always been home during the mornings. They would always wake up at their leisure and spend the mornings together. And Patrick loved that. He was at a point where he couldn’t sleep if Richie wasn’t beside him. Their full-size bed was his favorite place in the world.

But then Richie got a new job. A morning job. A job that required him to be out of the apartment before 6 am six out of seven days a week. And while Richie was going on and on about how he’d never had to be up so early in his life, Patrick was just as disappointed. The first few nights were the worst. When Richie would slip out of bed at 4:00, Patrick would pretend he was still asleep just to spare Richie’s feelings. And when he heard the apartment door close, he would sit up and stare at Richie’s side of the bed. Their full-size bed became his least favorite place.

Eventually he’d learned to adjust. He managed to sleep through Richie’s morning routine; he stopped hearing Richie leave. And when he opened his eyes, he was only slightly devastated to find Richie’s side empty.

So when Patrick woke up to the warmth of another body in the bed, he bolted upright faster than he ever had before. He had to do a double take. It was Richie, sitting up, scrolling through his phone. Cautiously, he reached out to press his hand to the side of Richie’s face as though to ensure it wasn’t just a hallucination.

Richie side-eyed the hand pressed against his face and let out a small laugh, “Something wrong?” He set his phone down on the night table.

Patrick jumped like the sound of Richie’s voice startled him from his thoughts. Richie was really there. “Richie, baby. What are you doing here? You’re like super late for work!” And while he worried about Richie’s tardiness, he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around his boyfriend and pull him deeper into the sheets.

Richie ran his fingers through Patrick’s hair. “Pato, I told you last week. Dani and I switched shifts today. I’m working the evening shift.” He reminded gently, knowing full well that Patrick would be embarrassed he’d forgotten such good news. “Sorry, I probably should have reminded you.”

Patrick nuzzled deeper into Richie’s warm chest. To some extent he was actually glad he’d forgotten because waking up to Richie unexpectedly was the best surprise he’d gotten in awhile. It’d been so long since they’d been able to just lay in bed without a care in the world. With his head pressed against Richie’s chest, Patrick was content to stay in bed all day. Or at least until he had to leave for work at 2.

But then again, why waste the opportunity. Patrick recalled that they used to do things in the mornings. Richie used to make coffee, and Patrick used to cook. Patrick would watch the morning news and Richie, being old fashioned as he was, would settle in with the paper. And they would talk. About anything. Any particularly memorable dream or any silly antics the other performed in their sleep. They would talk about the upcoming day’s activities or what they would eat for dinner. But no matter what it was, they were always smiling, always laughing with one another. Patrick missed that just as much as he missed waking up beside Richie.

“Hey, Richie. Since you’re… home, do you want to have breakfast? Just you and me and a plate of scrambled eggs.” Patrick asked listening carefully to Richie’s even heartbeat.

Richie’s fingers were still carding through Patrick’s hair, combing out any small knots he encountered. He pressed a kiss to top of Patrick’s head. “Sure, Pato.” He smiled, wrapping his free hand around the brunette and pulling him closer. “Just five more minutes.” But based on the way Richie was nesting himself deep within the covers, he had no intention of getting out anytime soon.

Five minutes quickly turned to ten minutes. Ten minutes to thirty. And thirty minutes to an hour. Despite Patrick’s previous wishes, he found himself quite comfortable just lying against Richie’s chest.

Glancing at the clock, Patrick noticed how much time had passed. How much of the day had been wasted just laying in bed. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to care. Because this time was precious. This was exactly what he wanted back. What he’d taken for granted when he had it. “Hey, Richie.” Patrick broke their comfortable silence.

“Yeah?” Richie asked, his hand still rubbing up and down Patrick’s back.

“I know it’s probably a lot to ask, but,” Patrick bit his bottom lip, “would you be able to permanently switch your shift?”

Richie’s hand suddenly stopped moving across Patrick’s skin. “Patrick,” Richie sighed.

Patrick propped himself to look at Richie. “I know, I know.” He strung a hand in Richie’s messy bedhead. “It’s a lot to ask, I know that. But I miss having you here in the mornings. And I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it until I got to spend this time with you. I want to do this every single morning with you.” He leaned down, pressing his forehead firmly against Richie’s and fighting back the tears building up in his eyes.

Richie smiled, Patrick’s hitching breath hitting his face. Slowly, he tilted his head up, bringing his lips to Patrick’s. Even after the kiss, he kept his face intimately close to Patrick. “I miss being here in the mornings,” he admitted, “I’ll see what I can do.”

That was all Patrick needed to hear. Richie would try for him. And maybe he would love being in their full-size bed again.


	3. Distractions

Patrick made sure he set an alarm. He’d triple checked it prior to going to sleep the night before. So when the intro to Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailando” filled the bedroom, he was quick to reach for his phone before Richie would hear it.

But despite his best efforts, he found himself fumbling with the stupid task he’d set as the only way to make the noise stop. When he set the alarm, it was genius. He should have to complete a series of simple math problems to turn it off. That way, he’s be less tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep. But in retrospect, it was probably pretty stupid. And the alarm would be blaring until he completed the last problem.

Thirteen simple addition problems later the alarm finally stopped. And he was right, he didn’t feel tired. But much to Patrick’s dismay, Richie was starting to wake up. He could feel Richie shifting under the covers as he turned to face Patrick. “Babe. Was that your alarm?” He asked, his voice slurred from sleep.

Patrick started rubbing Richie’s back, an action he knew would lull Richie back to sleep. “Sorry, I forgot I set that.” He easily lied, “Go back to sleep. It’s still early.”

“Yeah. Uh-huh.” Richie hummed. Thanks to Patrick’s tender touch, he was asleep again within minutes.

Once he knew Richie was in a deep enough sleep, Patrick carefully slipped out of the bed. Quietly, he crept out of the room and took up residence on their living room sofa. With his laptop on his lap, he was set to begin his early morning work session.

Mornings were the only time Patrick was able to work in peace. He was always so easily distractible. And his friends could be so persuasive. So to balance all that out, he’d decided to start rushing early in the mornings, while all of his distractions were still asleep. No one would bother him. And with final image rendering project just around the corner, he needed as much time as he could get.

He found he could be very productive when there was no one around to distract him. In only forty minutes, he’d managed to write a full line of complex code and make corrections to his new game maps and debugging four object designs. The sun wasn’t even in the sky yet. Patrick still had plenty of time to get some more work done. Richie wouldn’t be up for at least another two hours.

Or so he thought.

As he opened his animation folder to the current image, he heard the bedroom door slowly creak open. He craned his neck in that direction just in time to watch Richie stumble out rubbing tired eyes. But more than Richie’s tired pout and his adorable bedhead, Patrick was drawn to the fact the Richie was wearing nothing by a t-shirt. Patrick’s t-shirt.

It was the blue one with the Zelda logo right in the center. The one the brunette wore the day before. The one he lazily tossed on the floor when getting ready for bed. It fell to halfway down his hairy stomach and was loose around the neckline. His dark pubes were messy, and his curled dick and balls hanging around lazily. Nevertheless, he looked both adorable and hot as hell.

“Richie, baby.” Patrick whispered, certain any loud noises would startle him, “What are you doing up?”

“You weren’t in bed,” Richie replied through a long yawn. “Wanted to know where you went.” He leaned against the hallway wall for support. “Why are you up? It’s still dark out.”

Patrick set his book down to focus all his attention to his boyfriend. “I woke up early to get some work done.” He chuckled lightly at his Richie’s head bobbed up and down as he drifted. “Why don’t you go back to sleep. You’re still tired.”

Richie managed a simple nod before walking over to the sofa and collapsing down, his head falling right into Patrick’s empty lap. It wasn’t exactly what Patrick had in mind. But he would be lying if he said it wasn’t cute. And he couldn't exactly turn Richie away when he looked too perfect with Patrick’s long t-shirt and a sleepy pout.

As Richie curled up against the couch, Patrick wrapped an arm around him. He instinctively started rubbing small circles into Richie’s back. And once again, Richie fell back to sleep quickly. With Richie snoring softly in his lap, Patrick reopened the file and started checking for those hard to see digital bugs, periodically planting light kisses on Richie’s forehead.

This was the kind of distraction he could handle.


	4. Pushover

Richie didn’t get excited for much. He wasn’t a fan of sports; he didn’t have a favorite singer; he didn’t even have a favorite TV series. He didn’t care for holidays or special events. It was pretty safe to say that Richie was a man of simple things.

But he wasn’t heartless. Quite the opposite, actually. As Patrick came to learn, Richie had a huge heart. And he could be quite the sentimental charmer when he wanted to be. Richie loved Patrick; and he made sure to spoil the brunette every chance he got.

Sometimes, he was extravagant. Sometimes, Richie would make secret reservations at fancy restaurants or plan a weekend vacation. Other times, he was simple. He would buy flowers or leave Patrick little post-it notes reminding him how much he cared. And sometimes, he would just wake up early and set up a simple breakfast for just the two of them.

He was no chef. And he didn’t pretend that he was. When he thought about preparing a breakfast for Patrick, he completely overlooked anything that would require him to use the stove. He hardly liked using the stove in his most competent state of mind, let alone when he was hazy and still disoriented from sleep. The toaster was a definite possibility. Maybe even the microwave. But absolutely nothing that involved the stove.

Richie checked the freezer for any frozen waffles or microwavable breakfast sandwiches. He was pleased to find several boxes stacked in the third shelf. But upon closer inspection, and as a testament to his frequent misfortune, he found all the boxes to be empty. Stupid Patrick and his stupid bad habit of putting empty boxes back in the freezer.

So frozen breakfast was out of the question.

As he looked around for a plan B, he found himself fixated on the cereal boxes on the top shelf of the pantry. Hesitantly, he reached out to grab a box. Hopefully Patrick hadn’t put empty boxes back in the pantry, too. His mind eased when he heard the cereal shifting around the box. Just enough for two bowls, Richie speculated as he finished pulling it down.

Frosted Flakes. It was a sugary cereal Patrick always insisted they bought. Patrick insisted they were good because it was Kelloggs and and they were full of vitamins and stuff. And while Richie insisted that any cereal targeted at children was absolutely not nutritional in any way, shape, or form, the damn box always ended up in the cart.

Richie went against his better judgement and poured two bowls of the flakes, horrified at the literal sugar crystals that were saturating the actual cereal pieces. Parents really let their kids eat this stuff? They seriously target this to child athletes? But again, he bit back his hesitations. This was a sentiment for Patrick. And Patrick liked this stuff. Besides, one bowl wouldn’t completely shoot his metabolism. But he would definitely be spending an extra half hour at the gym just to make sure.

With the cereal poured, Richie put the bowls in the table along with the milk, orange juice, and two bananas (to add some actual nutrition to the meal). The table was set. All that was missing was Patrick’s presence. Richie glanced back to their room, one hundred percent certain that Patrick was still sound asleep.

Chuckling, he went to wake his sleeping boyfriend. It took a significant amount of effort, and Richie was thankful he had enough sense not to pour the milk because the cereal would have been a sopping mess by the time Patrick made an appearance at the table. But with enough shaking and gentle coaxing, Patrick finally started to come to.

He rubbed tired eyes and stretched out his long limbs across the entire length of the bed. Richie found it to be adorable, running fingers through Patrick’s knotted hair. “Good morning babe,” he smiled, “I made breakfast. It’s waiting on the table.”

Eyes still closed, Patrick quirked a brow. Richie absolutely did not make breakfast. He knew it, and Richie knew it too. “Okay, I didn’t actually make anything. It’s cereal. But it’s all poured and waiting on the table. So get your ass out of bed.”

Patrick’s eyes finally cracked open. He looked Richie over and smirked as he turned back over and pulled the covers tighter over himself. “I’m not getting out of bed for cereal.” He slurred. It was a lie. He would totally get out of bed for cardboard if Richie had prepared it. But this particular morning, he felt like seeing just how far he could push.

“Come on, Pato. It’s the sugary cereal with the tiger on it. It’s your favorite!” Richie tugged at the covers and shook Patrick a little more violently.

Patrick turned over again with a devilish smirk. He held his arms up like an infant confined to a crib, clenching and unclenching his fists. Richie looked confused at first, but eventually he understood what Patrick was getting at. “No, no way! I’m not carrying you to the table.” He crossed his arms vehemently over his chest.

Patrick continued reaching up at Richie with the beginnings of a pout forming on his lips. He would even force himself to cry if need be. The stand-off lasted only a little while longer before Richie finally caved, sighing and scooping Patrick up in a bridal fashion and escorting him out to the kitchen.

Patrick laughed adorably as Richie carried him, “You’re a big pushover, you know that.” He teased, kissing Richie’s blushing cheek.

Richie set Patrick down in his chair and pushed him in. “Shut up and eat your sugar, Patito.” He muttered as he took his own seat.

Patrick laughed impossibly louder at that, “I love you.” he grinned as he grabbed the milk.

Richie really was just a sentimental, sappy, pushover.


	5. Exception

Richie was a man of routine. He liked to have a schedule and stick strictly to it. If he had to make even the slightest changes, it would ruin his entire day. Depending on the severity of the change, it could even ruin his whole week.

The routine was roughly the same day to day, week after week. Wake up at 6:00 to go to the gym, come home, wake Patrick, have sex with Patrick, get ready for work, go to work, grab lunch with Patrick, have a quickie with Patrick if they had the chance, finish work, go home, have sex with Patrick, eat dinner, maybe relax if he had the time, then go to sleep and start the whole thing over again. His routine was his passion.

So when his internal clock woke him at precisely 6:00 he was ready to start another day. It was supposed to be just like any other Wednesday. His muscles were aching to go to the gym.

Actually, his muscles were tingling. Specifically, the muscles on his left side. He could hardly feel his left arm. In a moment of panic, he turned his head a lightning speed to investigate the issue. He relaxed when he realized it was just that Patrick had fallen asleep against him, trapping Richie’s arm beneath his body.

He smiled fondly at the peaceful smile on Patrick’s lips. It’s been awhile since Patrick looked so peaceful. Ever since the brunette received a promotion for his work.

However, trying to balance his work, his boyfriend, and his friends was becoming a bit too stressful. Richie could tell by the seemingly eternal exhausted expression he wore. He was hardly sleeping, which was why this particular moment of Patrick actually resting was valuable to Richie.

Come to think of it, Richie wasn’t exactly sure when Patrick slipped into bed. But judging by the faint humming of the fan in Patrick’s laptop, it couldn’t have been long too ago. He’d been falling asleep later and later the past few weeks, only adding to his increasing exhaustion. And Richie knew he was purely drained by the way he was cuddling up against him.

Patrick was definitely a cuddler through and through. The fact that he was pressed against Richie was nothing out of the ordinary. But Patrick was curled in on himself. One hand clutching relentlessly on the fabric of Richie’s t-shirt. His legs were snaked around one of Richie’s. Patrick’s head wasn’t tucked in the crook of Richie’s neck, but rather rested on his chest and the hand not gripping Richie’s shirt was stuck in the tangles of Richie’s hair.

That was only how Patrick cuddled when he was desperate, when he was running thin, when he needed more than he was getting. Patrick needed more than he was getting. More rest, more comfort, just more.

Richie wanted to get out of bed. He had to start his routine. He had to get to the gym, or his entire day would be off. He started to move, trying to pry himself away from Patrick. But when he started to move, Patrick stirred and the small smile on his lips turned to a pout. He muttered something about not moving. Something about staying, and Richie couldn’t resist.

He looked back down at Patrick. His poor, exhausted, momentarily at ease boyfriend. And he couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed. He wanted to go to the gym. But Patrick absolutely needed him. With no further hesitation, Richie rested back in the bed, pulling Patrick even closer and coating him with loving comfort. He’d make up his lost workout before dinner.

Richie hated to have his routine interrupted; but for Patrick, he would make an exception.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos + Comment


End file.
